Nigeria gets tough on unions
2005-03-31 09:46
Abuja - Nigeria's President Olusegun Obasanjo on Wednesday signed into law a bill which breaks the monopoly of the national union federation and sets stringent conditions for strike action, an official statement said on Wednesday.
The Trade Unions (Amendment) bill, 2005 gives trade unions the right to form, register and belong to federations of trade unions of their choice, opening up the previous system where the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) enjoyed a monopoly, a president's office statement said.
The law makes membership of trade unions "absolutely voluntary" and sets "stringent conditions" which must be met by trade unions and federations of trade unions before a strike action can be taken.
The new law bans strike action in essential service sectors including; health, education, fire service, security, power, aviation and water.
It specifically bans trade unions from compelling anyone to join any strike, prevent aircraft from flying or obstruct public highways, institutions and premises, the text said.
The NLC, to which about 30 unions are affiliated, said that the law was aimed at weakening the body, which has organised a number of successful strikes, mostly to protest the price rises in petroleum products.
President Obasanjo has accused the NLC leadership of running a "parallel government" to his own.
An NLC official said that it was impossible to either outlaw the organisation or ban protests.
"Nobody can outlaw protests. Everybody has a right to protest. We see the enactment of this law as a challenge for us to work harder. Protests will now be completely deregulated," Denja Yaqub, NLC national mobilisation officer, said.
Nigerian oil workers have given notice to launch a "warning" strike on April 11 and a meeting in Abuja to avert the strike was deadlocked on Wednesday. - AFP
- SAPA